The only partnership governments should be having with private businesses is consultation and project work.

Just like in the old days- government needed a highway, wrote a contract with a company to do it, and paid off their costs to them through tolls until they were paid off; the result was there were no consequences of the road/tunnel "not making a profit"- at worst the contractors might ask for interest (if the government is stupid enough to let them)- which still worked out cheaper and with a lot less mess of companies going into deficit over it.

Private companies should have absolutely ZERO stakes in a public utility- ALWAYS. All we end up with is infrastructure that costs more, is motivated to do less, is less accountable and ultimately the cost builds up on a state level, and harms the rest of the business world by extorting everyone to use their monopoly service.Unless you count Sydney Airport, The Lane Cove Tunnel, Telstra and Qantas as success stories. Which would require you to have extraordinarily poor English and confused the word "success" with "absolute scandalous failure"

Posted by King Hazza, Tuesday, 5 July 2011 10:43:48 AM

Bravo King Hazza: Lets do things the way that wastes less time, work and capital and delivers the best value. Adding layers of finance profit, consulting profit and general complexity (the modern PPP) is an utter failure. For all natural monopolies the greatest efficiencies are when the government owns and manages 100% of the entity. The work is carried out by private firms who charge reasonable rates with competition to ensure rorting and waste are kept minimal.PPPs using expensive private finance are all about profiteering and jobs for the boys, certainly *not* efficiency and productivity!

Posted by Ozandy, Tuesday, 5 July 2011 3:44:23 PM

It thinks that is a bit indulgent in Naivetť King Hazza; you left out the Oligarchs that had been paid handsomely , and to think such a contract would or are awarded on merit, that is another bit of mistaken opinion; You could never gain such a contract ; and even if you were able too , your some of money to pay Beaurocrats would send you broke before you actually got to start the job;

In most instances where these contract are awarded , I would strongly suggest that someone make a grand effort to investigate the Managerial levels within some of these Monopoly privileged entities;

And just like the Japanese Nuclear disaster would have been prevented if the Alleged company was to construct a wall as it was intended 25 years ago A Engineers report you will never see , but spending money on something other than them selves was simply out of the question; But yes the Company was laced with ?

Yes , ex politicians and Beaurocrats ; A world wide phenomena ;

So spot the legitimate business man or a real Engineer ; they would automatically know that when it is Government , Run the other direction , the looter alarm bells are ringing loude.

What hope do us peasants have? , Who do we have to protect us from Government ? simply put , No one.

Posted by All-, Tuesday, 5 July 2011 5:12:17 PM

"You could never gain such a contract ; and even if you were able too , your some of money to pay Beaurocrats would send you broke before you actually got to start the job;"

That's rather strange considering that NSW did exactly that for most of the past century in building and managing roads and other infrastructure- the roads are the most functional in our state, tolls were miniscule and have since actually even been paid off and are now free to travel across (as the contractors only wanted to be paid the sum for their services, and aren't owners expecting to make a business out tolls. And strangely, NSW was an incredibly stable, prosperous and high output state back in those days.Now, mysteriously, this quickly started to change when the last labor government- who were gung-ho about PPPs and privatization- came into government; and NSW started going into increasing debts, infrastructure shortages, gridlocks and crashes, and is facing all kinds of constant financial problems of artificially reimbursing the private holders of various utilities for absence of PROFITS because too few people are using their utilities (after hiking the price).

And do pray tell exactly what a private company does in this situation?Oh that's right- it CONTRACTS.

Sorry.

Posted by King Hazza, Wednesday, 6 July 2011 9:58:48 AM

I really donít know how the answer to the Question evolves; Government is great all hale the Government, and when Government clumsily and in its incompetent and stupid way stuffs everything up; Government is great, all hale the Government. Give us more.Try looking at it with a theory based in Fact, Eg. State Budget, and the States Wages bill, it is on public record, and that will answer your first question why; State Administration is near Two thirds of the Budget.

So unless you intend to get the Beuarocrats and Politicians to do something that actually resembles Something productive and or in the interest of the peasantry , let alone work ; give them a pick and a shovel ; and set them to work building things ; But that is Metaphysical mysticism.

And the second question, Elections only replaces Politicians, and when you replace the politicians, who is it that NEVER gets replaced.Second question answered.Hale the great Cesar - and that is what we are dealing with; The State.

The same as what you would do King Hazza, Not do it, for if you lose your money, who will replace it? And any and all private companies not grandad Monopoly privilege cannot afford such incompetence, Where Government and Monopoly; well there are no such accountability issues, they just rob the peasants of more money. And More and more and more. Hale the great Cesar ; they are great.